There are a lot of layers to the onion that is the New York Islanders-Buffalo Sabres trade involving Thomas Vanek and Matt Moulson, a deal that has the potential to leave the Islanders in a pinch.

The exposure is much greater for the Islanders in this one if Vanek opts to become a free agent next summer.

If they can't sign him, they'll have lost the first- and second-round draft picks they sent with Moulson to the Sabres.

Still, it's not a bad gamble for the Islanders. It's a great deal for the Sabres.

Islanders general manager Garth Snow has decided Vanek is an obvious upgrade over Moulson (even though Moulson has outscored Vanek 118-110 since 2009-10 when Moulson became a full-time NHLer with the Islanders ). He even said: "We're a better team today than we were yesterday."

Moulson has more goals than Vanek, but the X-factor here is Islanders centre John Tavares. He's helped Moulson have success and it's going to be really interesting to see if Vanek and Tavares have a connection.

If, as Snow contends, Vanek is the better player, then his production with Tavares should be better than Moulson's over the rest of his season.

By acquiring Vanek 10 games in, Snow and the Islanders also get his services for almost the entire season. It's not out of the question the price Snow paid would be as high or higher at the trade deadline, with more suitors in the mix for Vanek. By pulling the trigger now instead of at the deadline, Snow has Vanek for six months rather than six weeks at what might be a better price.

He also has almost a full season to convince Vanek the place to be is with the Islanders. He's been successful doing that a couple of times previous, notably with goaltender Evgeni Nabokov and defenceman Lubomir Visnovksy, two players who balked at going to the Islanders, but ended up signing with them after playing there for a bit (there seem to be a lot of people assuming Vanek will ultimately sign with the Minnesota Wild because he went to school there and his wife is from there, but that ignores the challenge the Wild will have getting him under the salary cap.)

If Vanek hits it off with Tavares, he might take a look around and realize there might not be a better centre with which to play come free agency time.

After years of wallowing and accumulating top draft picks, the Islanders are at the point in the development arc where they need to build on last year's trip to the playoffs. Dipping into their bank of assets is the way to go.

The other option is if Vanek shows no inclination to sign with the Isles, Snow can always deal him and recoup at least some of what he spent to get him and maybe even upgrade the goaltending or defence positions, which are much more pressing needs than offence.

Sabres GM Darcy Regier has been taking it from Buffalo fans for the embarrassing state of the on-ice product, but he has been doing a strong job of turning the Sabres' potential free agents into assets. This deal is no exception after doing well in shipping out Jason Pominville last season.

If it doesn't look like he can sign Moulson, he could move him and add to the first- and second-round picks he got for Vanek. It's like he's put himself in a position to almost double the return for Vanek.

HEAR AND THERE: One of the developments in the NHL the last few years has been more aggressive penalty killing. You don't see teams sitting back in a passive box much anymore. Players are faster and coaches are using that speed to pressure the power play and boldly contest anything close to a 50-50 puck. That's reflected in the fact there have been 31 short-handed goals through 170 games this season. That's the most since 37 were scored in the first 172 games of 2010-11 ... You have to score the first appeal of a suspension under the new CBA as a win for the NHL. Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta is not going to take his case to an independent arbitrator after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, the first stop on the appeals process, upheld the 10-game ban for his hit to the head of Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Jack Johnson.

JUST WONDERING: Why didn't Brandon Dubinsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets face supplemental discipline for his hit on Saku Koivu of the Anaheim Ducks? It was a pretty sketchy hit. Dubinsky hit Koivu well after he had dished the puck and nailed him in the face, though he did catch a good piece of his body, too. The interference major and game misconduct were obviously deemed to be sufficient punishment. Koivu, meanwhile, was sent home to Anaheim from the Ducks' lengthy road trip.

JUST SAYING: New York Rangers fans finally got a chance Monday to see their team and new coach Alain Vigneault, who replaced John Tortorella in the off-season, as a $1 billion renovation of Madison Square Garden kept the Blueshirts on the road for their first nine games of the regular season. The differences between Vigneault and Tortorella were quickly evident: when a cellphone rang repeatedly as Vigneault was addressing reporters in advance of the home opener against one of Vigneault's former clubs, the Montreal Canadiens, he quipped: "If I were Torts, I'd be leaving right now."